February 05, 2021

Not a Snowball's Chance


Not a Snowball's Chance
They think the snowman doth protest too much. Balazs Benjamin, pexels.com

One wouldn’t expect it to be an issue for a snowman to be left out in the cold, but in the village of Zachachye in Arkhangelskaya Oblast, four such fellows were found wanting for warmth.

Following the January 23rd protests decrying the maltreatment of Alexei Navalny, activist Yelena Kalinina rallied for a small gathering of her own. She packed four distinguished frosties into the yard of her Zachachye home, each brandishing a different slogan: “Down with the Tsar,” “Vova [Vladimir], it’s over between us,” “It’s our country!” and “Peace to the cottages, and war to the palaces."

The following day, police came to Kalinina’s village to throw cold water on the affair. They snatched the pickets of Kalinina’s friends, and then took her away for questioning, though she reported to RFE/RL’s Russian Service that she accrued no fines.

Kalinina’s release came as cold comfort; while they escaped destruction, the snowmen were too chilled by the events to comment.

 

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Some of Our Books

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The Frogs Who Begged for a Tsar (bilingual)

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The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas

This exciting new trilogy by a Russian author – who has been compared to Orhan Pamuk and Umberto Eco – vividly recreates a lost world, yet its passions and characters are entirely relevant to the present day. Full of mystery, memorable characters, and non-stop adventure, The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas is a must read for lovers of historical fiction and international thrillers.  
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93 Untranslatable Russian Words

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Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors

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Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography

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